U.S. patent number 6,854,280 [Application Number 10/239,824] was granted by the patent office on 2005-02-15 for method for making a self-refrigerating drink package and equipment therefor.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Thermagen S.A.. Invention is credited to Pierre Jeuch.
United States Patent |
6,854,280 |
Jeuch |
February 15, 2005 |
Method for making a self-refrigerating drink package and equipment
therefor
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a
self-refrigerating drinks package, characterised in that it
includes a step consisting in assembling refrigeration means inside
the package, said refrigeration means being composed of a cavity
containing a refrigerating liquid able to evaporate under the
effect of a negative pressure, means of connecting said cavity to
external pumping means by adsorption being provided in the package,
partial pressure of the non-adsorbable gases in the internal cavity
being maintained below 3 millibar.
Inventors: |
Jeuch; Pierre (Saint-Aubin,
FR) |
Assignee: |
Thermagen S.A. (Gif-sur-Yvette,
FR)
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Family
ID: |
8851221 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/239,824 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2002 |
PCT
Filed: |
June 13, 2001 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/FR01/01820 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
December 13, 2002 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO01/96796 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
December 20, 2001 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jun 13, 2000 [FR] |
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00 07530 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
62/100; 62/269;
62/294 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D
31/007 (20130101); F25B 17/00 (20130101); F25D
2331/805 (20130101); F25D 5/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F25D
31/00 (20060101); F25D 5/02 (20060101); F25D
5/00 (20060101); F25B 17/00 (20060101); F25B
019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/294,371,372,451,480,4,100,268,269 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0 726 433 |
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Aug 1996 |
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EP |
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0 931 998 |
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Jul 1999 |
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EP |
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2 696 533 |
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Apr 1994 |
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FR |
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2001139829 |
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May 2001 |
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JP |
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WO 97/21964 |
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Jun 1997 |
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WO |
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WO 99/37958 |
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Jul 1999 |
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WO |
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Primary Examiner: Tapolcai; William E.
Assistant Examiner: Ali; Mohammad M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sughrue Mion, PLLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for manufacturing a self-refrigerating drinks package,
comprising a step of assembling a refrigeration means inside a
package, the refrigeration means comprising a cavity containing a
refrigerating liquid able to evaporate under the effect of a
negative pressure and providing in the package a connector that
connects the cavity to a pump external to the package, wherein the
assembly step is performed with the cavity containing the
refrigerating liquid in a frozen state.
2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
refrigerating liquid was degassed prior to its introduction into
the internal cavity so as to obtain a partial pressure of the
non-adsorbable gases in the internal cavity of less than 3
millibar.
3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
method further comprises: producing at least part of the cavity,
filling the cavity with a refrigerating liquid, freezing the
refrigerating liquid, and assembling the cavity in the package
provided with the connector.
4. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
method further comprises: producing at least part of the cavity,
freezing a refrigerating liquid in a shape fitting in the cavity,
filling the cavity with the frozen refrigerating liquid, and
assembling the cavity in the package provided with the
connector.
5. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
assembly of the internal cavity in the package is carried out by
cold crimping.
6. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
assembly of the internal cavity in the package is carried out by
adhesive bonding.
7. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
assembly of the cavity in the package is carried out under air
vacuum.
8. The manufacturing method according to one of claim 1, wherein
the assembly of the cavity in the package is carried out at
atmospheric pressure by pumping the cavity before closure of the
cavity.
9. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
connector forms a conical structure closing off the cavity and is
provided with a seal-removal recess.
10. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
connector is disposed in a bottom of the package.
11. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
refrigerating liquid water.
12. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
refrigerating liquid is water containing an additive lowering its
solidification temperature.
13. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the
refrigerating liquid partially fills the internal cavity.
14. An apparatus for implementing the manufacturing method
according to claim 1, comprising: means of freezing the
refrigerating liquid, means of assembling a cavity containing the
frozen refrigerating liquid in a package, and means of producing
vacuum in the cavity.
15. A method for manufacturing a self-refrigerating package,
comprising a step of assembling a refrigeration means within a
package, the refrigeration means comprising an evaporator chamber
provided with connection means and containing a refrigerating
liquid able to evaporate under the effect of a vacuum sustained by
pumping means through the connecting means, wherein the assembly
step closes the evaporator chamber inside the package with the
refrigerating liquid in a frozen state.
Description
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a
self-refrigerating drinks package, as well as equipment for
implementing such a method. The invention applies particularly to
the cooling of drinks contained in a closed package of the can or
bottle type.
The object of the present invention is to propose a method for
manufacturing a drinks package allowing the rapid cooling of the
drink for its consumption at an ideal temperature in any place and
at any time.
In particular, the invention proposes such a manufacturing method
which is simple to implement and profitable in the context of
industrial exploitation.
There are mainly two physical methods for cooling a package or
enclosure. Firstly, cooling by the expansion of a gas according to
classic thermodynamic laws, and secondly cooling by evaporation and
adsorption, the principle of which consists in evaporating a liquid
under the effect of a negative pressure maintained by adsorption of
the vapours from said liquid.
Thus, for example, the first method was used in the French patent
application FR 97 04531, which proposes to achieve the cooling of a
drink in a can by means of a depressurisation of compressed gas. A
cartridge of gas to be depressurised is placed in a metallic
radiator itself placed inside the can.
This solution has several drawbacks. Firstly, the gas cartridge
occupies approximately half the volume of the drink to be cooled,
which is necessitated by the quantity of gas required for the
cooling of the drink. Secondly, the cost price of a compressed gas
cartridge is high, which gives rise to an excessively high increase
in the price of the can.
The use of the other method for cooling by evaporation and
adsorption also has been the subject of many researches in the
prior art. Many devices have been proposed, combining an evaporator
containing a liquid to be evaporated with a reservoir containing an
adsorbent.
Thus, for example, such a method was used in self-contained devices
such as portable refrigerators. The patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,531,
an illustration of which is given in FIG. 1, proposes a
refrigeration system in two parts. An evaporator 101, consisting of
a chamber containing a liquid 103 to be evaporated, is situated
inside an enclosure 100 and another chamber 102 containing the
adsorbent 104 is situated outside. The two chambers 101 and 102 are
connected by a conduit 110 provided with a valve 111. An electric
cable 105 is also provided in the external chamber 102 in order to
heat and thus regenerate the adsorbent 104. Another conduit 112
connects the evaporator 101 to a vacuum pump by means of the
conduit 110 and a valve 113.
This patent claims the control of a pressure in the evaporator
which is much less than the saturation vapour pressure of the
liquid by means of a vacuum pump. No indication is however given on
the way of reducing the partial pressure in the evaporator 101
without making the refrigerating liquid 103 evaporate completely,
which constitutes a real physical difficulty.
In addition, this device is complex to manufacture (valves, tubes
and cables) and is not inexpensive, in particular in order to
guarantee a good vacuum.
In addition, use of the method for cooling by evaporation and
adsorption has also been proposed for drinks packages.
Thus the patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,599, an illustration of which
is given in FIG. 2, proposes to produce an exchanger 16
(evaporator) contained completely inside the receptacle 10 to be
cooled (explicitly described as a can) but emphasises the
reversible character of the putting of the exchanger 16 in
communication with the adsorbent contained in a reservoir 22
situated under the can 20. This device includes at least four
valves: two for making the vacuum 19 and then filling 20 the
exchanger 16, one for making the vacuum in the reservoir 22 of the
adsorbent and one for controlling the triggering of the cooling 27.
This complex construction certainly does not make it possible to
achieve a cost price compatible with a disposable package such as a
can and the reversible character of the putting in communication
contributes to this complexity.
Other patents, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,191, supplemented by U.S. Pat.
No. 5,048,301, by the same inventors, an illustration of which is
given in FIG. 3, propose to achieve the refrigeration of a drink 15
contained in a package 10 by means of a module 11 placed in the
package 10 (presented as a can).
This module 11 is composed of several chambers, a first 12 which
contains the liquid to be evaporated (water) and a second chamber
14, internal to the first 12, containing desiccants 25 and "heat
traps" 24. Triggering means make it possible to put the water 18 in
contact with the desiccants 25, which act as a pump for the water
vapour. This adsorption reaction, which cools the first chamber 12,
does however cause a significant release of heat in the second
chamber 14, which can be trapped in the special materials 24 (by
change of phase or endothermic reaction). The second patent U.S.
Pat. No. 5,048,301 proposes in this regard to add heat insulation
(of the Dewar type) by means of a vacuum chamber 13 surrounding the
chamber 14 containing the adsorbent 25.
None of the inventions of the prior art has been the subject of
significant commercial application up to the present time. There
are for this technical reasons of performance and economic reasons
of manufacturing cost, for which the present invention proposes
solution.
This is because some technical and physical requirements have never
been seriously taken into consideration in the prior art, and the
constraints of manufacturing cost are important given the
application to disposable devices.
The complexity of the devices proposed in the prior art constitute
an obvious obstacle to their development. The reversible valves
putting in communication in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,599,
although not described in detail, are complex and expensive to
manufacture. The patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,759,191 and 5,048,301
suffer from the same economic constraint and also emphasise the
difficulty of discharging the heat released in the package by the
adsorbent and the complex means to be used for this.
In addition, these devices do not make it possible to achieve rapid
cooling of the drink. Two essential points for such a rapid cooling
have in fact been insufficiently taken into consideration. Firstly
the efficacy of the heat exchange between the evaporator and the
drink, and secondly the speed of pumping of the vapours from the
refrigerating liquid in the evaporator.
The pumping speed of course depends on the efficacy of the
adsorbent, but also on the geometric characteristics of the means
of putting the evaporator in communication with the reservoir
containing the adsorbent, as well as the residual pressure of the
non-adsorbable gases, that is to say gases other than the vapour
from the refrigerating liquid.
However, none of the devices of the prior art proposes particular
arrangements for providing a good vapour pumping rate.
In addition, the devices of the prior art rarely present their
manufacturing methods and in particular the way of ensuring a good
vacuum in the exchanger.
The patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,599 describes a valve structure
which makes it possible to make the vacuum before introducing the
refrigerating liquid into the exchanger. This method is certainly
effective, but results in a complex and expensive device through
the number of valves which it includes.
The patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,759,191 and 5,048,301 do not specify
the way of eliminating the air from the chamber containing the
refrigerating liquid at the time the device is manufactured.
However, it is the residual pressure of the non-adsorbable, and
therefore non-pumped, gases which limits the cooling process.
The objective of the present invention is to resolve the drawbacks
of the prior art.
The object of the present invention is to propose a manufacturing
method which makes it possible to achieve the rapid cooling of a
drink in its package with a simple and inexpensive device.
To this end, the invention proposes a method for manufacturing a
self-refrigerating drinks package which is composed of two distinct
elements. An evaporator (a cavity) containing a refrigerating
liquid is disposed inside a package and connection means are
provided for connecting the evaporator to pumping means external to
the package which make it possible to cause and maintain the
evaporation of the refrigerating liquid.
In addition, the method for manufacturing the drinks package
according to the invention makes it possible to maintain the
pressure of the non-adsorbable gases in the evaporator at a low
level, below 3 millibar.
The present invention relates more particularly to a method for
manufacturing a self-refrigerating drinks package, characterised in
that it includes a step consisting in assembling refrigeration
means inside a package, said refrigeration means being composed of
a cavity containing a refrigerating liquid able to evaporate under
the effect of a negative pressure, means of connecting the said
cavity to external pumping means by adsorption being provided in
the package, the partial pressure of the non-adsorbable gases in
the internal cavity being maintained below 3 millibar.
According to the methods of implementation, the refrigerating
liquid is water or water containing an additive reducing its
solidification temperature.
According to one characteristic, the refrigerating liquid partially
fills the internal cavity.
According to another characteristic, the refrigerating liquid was
degassed prior to its introduction into the internal cavity.
According to one particularity, the step of assembling the internal
cavity inside the packaging is carried out with the cavity
containing the frozen refrigerating liquid.
According to one embodiment, the method includes the following
steps: producing at least part of a cavity, filling the said cavity
with the refrigerating liquid, freezing the said liquid, assembling
the cavity in the package provided with connection means.
According to another embodiment, the refrigerating liquid is frozen
in a shape fitting in the cavity, and then placed in the said
cavity before it is assembled in the package.
According to one characteristic, the connection means consist of a
conical structure closing the cavity and having a seal-removal
recess.
According to one embodiment, the connection means are produced in
the bottom of the package.
According to another embodiment, the connection means are produced
in the lid of the package.
According to one embodiment, the connection of the internal cavity
to the package is carried out by cold crimping.
According to another embodiment, the connection of the internal
cavity to the package is carried out by adhesive bonding.
According to one embodiment, the connection of the cavity in the
package is carried out under air vacuum.
According to another embodiment, the connection of the cavity in
the package is carried out at atmospheric pressure, the method also
including a step of pumping the cavity before closing the said
cavity.
The invention also concerns equipment for implementing the method,
characterised in that it includes: means of freezing a
refrigerating liquid, means of assembling a cavity containing the
frozen refrigerating liquid in a package, means of producing vacuum
in the cavity.
The internal cavity and the external pumping means constitute two
distinct elements independent in their design and manufacture. Thus
the manufacture of a self-refrigerating package is greatly
simplified since it contains only an evaporator and connection
means. The manufacturing lines for conventional packages can
therefore easily be adapted.
According to one advantageous particularity, the self-refrigerating
drinks package obtained by the manufacturing method according to
the invention contains no filling or pumping valve, which
simplifies manufacture and reduces the production costs.
Other particularities and advantages of the present invention will
emerge during the following description given by way of
illustrative and non-limiting example, and made with reference to
the figures, in which:
FIG. 1, already described, is a diagram of a portable
self-refrigerating device according to the prior art,
FIG. 2, already described, is a diagram of a self-refrigerating
drinks can according to a variant of the prior art;
FIG. 3, already described, is a diagram of a self-refrigerating
drinks can according to another variant of the prior art;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view in transverse section along AA of a
drinks package according to a second embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view from below along BB in FIG. 4;
FIGS. 6a and 6b are detailed views of the connection means;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view, in transverse section along AA, of a
drinks package according to a second embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 8 is a schematic view from below along BB in FIG. 4.
The description which follows relates to a method for manufacturing
a drinks package, of the can type, made from steel or aluminium
according to the manufacturer, provided with refrigeration means
based on the principle of evaporation of a refrigerating liquid at
reduced pressure.
The method according to the invention consists in manufacturing a
heat exchanger 2 and placing it inside a drinks package, consisting
of a can 10 of standard shape and volume. This heat exchanger is
produced in the form of a cavity 2 which is filled with a
refrigerating liquid L.
In order to facilitate its manufacture and recycling, the cavity 2
is advantageously composed of the same material as the can 1,
namely steel or aluminium.
According to the method of the invention, the cavity 2 is produced
separately and then assembled in the package 10 whilst enclosing
the refrigerating liquid L. For such an operation to be possible,
the invention proposes to perform the assembly step with the liquid
L frozen inside the cavity 2. The refrigerating liquid L can have
been introduced into the cavity 2 in the form of liquid and then
frozen with the cavity 2, or have been frozen separately in a shape
fitting in the cavity 2. Preferentially, the liquid L only
partially fills the cavity 2, for example half.
The internal walls of the cavity 2 can advantageously be covered
with a hydrophilic porous material, such as cellulose or a polymer
for example. This material can be glued to the walls of the cavity
2 during its manufacture or put in place at the same time as the
frozen liquid L.
The refrigerating liquid L contained in the internal cavity 2 can
be water, or preferentially water containing an additive reducing
its solidification temperature, such as NaCl for example. With such
an additive, it is possible to improve the speed of cooling of the
drink by lowering the temperature of the cavity 2 (the heat
exchanger) below 0.degree. C. when the refrigerating liquid L is
water.
According to one particularity of the invention, the internal
cavity 2 contains only the refrigerating liquid L and the vapours
of the said liquid L, that is to say the liquid L was previously
degassed before being introduced into the cavity 2. This degassing
can be provided in particular by boiling at atmospheric pressure,
following by a boiling by pressure reduction to a few
millibars.
In other words, the partial pressure in the internal cavity 2 of
the gases other than the vapour of the refrigerating liquid L,
before connection of the cavity 2 to the external pumping means 50,
is maintained below or equal to 3 millibar. This particularity
provides a good evaporation rate whilst avoiding limiting the
evaporation reaction with any non-adsorbable gases which might be
contained in the cavity 2.
The cavity 2 has geometric particularities such that its volume to
surface ratio is one third to one seventh of the volume to surface
ratio of the package 10. Several geometric configurations are
possible for producing the cavity 2.
According to a first possible configuration, with reference to
FIGS. 4 to 6, the geometry of the cavity 2 favours a large heat
exchange surface with the drink to be refrigerated for a small
volume occupied in the package 10.
According to this embodiment, the cavity 2 has a tubular structure
principally consisting in pumping tubes 3 which form ribs held
between them by plates 31 and containing the refrigerating liquid L
to be evaporated. The internal cavity 2 can advantageously have the
shape of an arc of a circle matching the shape of the can 10.
The tubular structure of the cavity 2 can be obtained by producing
the two faces (portion of tubes and plates) separately by pressing.
The frozen liquid L is then introduced between the two faces, which
are assembled in order to form the cavity 2.
The cavity 2 containing the refrigerating liquid L is then fixed to
the package 10, by cold crimping of two cones one in the other,
adhesive bonding or any other technique. Cold crimping means the
connection of two pieces put in contact at different temperatures
and which expand or contract in order to be fixed together.
In order to guarantee a good vacuum in the cavity 2, the assembly
step can be carried out, for example, under air vacuum and under
saturation vapour pressure of the refrigerating liquid L. If the
assembly is carried out at atmospheric pressure, it is then
necessary to provide a step of pumping the cavity 2 before closure
of the latter.
The connection means 5, which make it possible to connect the
internal cavity 2 to the external pumping means 30, are illustrated
in detail in FIGS. 6a and 6b.
These connection means 5 associate a tube 4 extending the cavity 2
and the bottom of the package 10 by means of complementary crimped
conical shapes (51 and 52) and (53 and 54). It is the connection
means 5 which provide the closure of the package 10 and/or of the
cavity 2. It can also be envisaged producing the connection means 5
in the lid of the package 10 rather than in its bottom.
A seal-removal recess is also produced on the connection means 5,
that is to say a local thinning of the structure, to allow the
cutting of an opening in the internal cavity 2 using seal-removal
means associated with the external pumping means 50.
According to another possible configuration, with reference to
FIGS. 7 and 8, the cavity 2 constitutes a double bottom of the
package 10. This configuration repeats most of the particularities
of the first. The geometry of the cavity 2 favours the
establishment of large convection currents in the drink in order to
provide rapid cooling. It has, for example, a conical shape in
vertical section (FIG. 7) and a star structure in horizontal
section (FIG. 8). The cavity 2 is fixed directly to the bottom of
the package or to its lid, by adhesive bonding for example.
The connection means 5 are similar to those described previously,
as well as the associated seal-removal means.
The double-bottom structure of the cavity 2 can be obtained by
pressing with the package 10. The refrigerating liquid L
preferentially being introduced frozen at the bottom of the can 2
before this assembly step.
The manufacturing method according to the invention makes it
possible to effect the assembly of the cavity 2 with the
refrigerated liquid L in the package 10 whilst maintaining the
partial pressure of the non-adsorbable gases in the cavity 2 at a
low level, that is to say much less than 3 millibar.
This objective is achieved by freezing the liquid L in the cavity 2
and performing the assembly step under air vacuum or at atmospheric
pressure followed by a pumping step before closure of the cavity
2.
For this, the standard equipment of can manufacturers 10 can easily
be adapted, the manufacturing steps being practically unchanged
compared with the manufacture of a standard can.
The invention requires in fact means of degassing and freezing
refrigerating liquid L. For this purpose, heating and pumping means
are necessary, which does not represent any difficulty, or large
investment.
The invention also requires means of assembling the cavity 2 in the
package 10 and means of making the vacuum in the cavity 2. The
assembly means consist essentially of adhesive bonding, crimping
and cold pressing means, which are techniques already used in the
standard equipment of can manufacturers. The means of making the
vacuum in the cavity 2 can simply be means of pumping the cavity
before it is closed, the refrigerating liquid L being frozen, or
means for assembling under vacuum, which represent equipment which
is a little more specific but used in many industries.
* * * * *